Your brand matters. I’m not talking about your company or product’s brand; I’m talking about your brand. You know, YOU.

It’s easy to understand that if you don’t develop and manage your company or product’s brand, customers will form an opinion of their own. Basically brand happens, whether you’re actively managing it or not.

The same is true with our own personal brands, even though we rarely stop to contemplate the idea of branding ourselves. If you don’t understand and shape your message, others will brand you based on their own experience and it might not be the interpretation you desire it to be.

Thinking of yourself as a brand or “business” may seem smarmy to some, but in my opinion, defining yourself as a brand is really an opportunity to help you better pursue your passions, goals and aspirations both personally and professionally.

So how do you even start building your own personal brand? It starts with these easy steps:

1. Identify what makes you unique and what you want to stand for (a lot easier than it sounds, I promise), then work to pair this list down to your top 5 qualities

2. Determine your values and what really matters to you

3. Then identify your passions, the things that make you feel the most engaged

4. Identify your individual key messages that defines what makes you unique (differentiated), and weaves in your values and passions

5. Communicate your own key messages clearly and simply

At the end of the day your brand is your calling card. So craft it, build it and manage it!